Safety supporting means for brake beams



Aug. 15, 1933. $4. CRONE 1,922,526 v SAFETY SUPPORTING MEANS FOR BRAKEBEAMS FilOd April 21, 1931 INVENTOR ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 15, 1933UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY SUPPORTING MEANS FOR BRAKE BEAMS SethA. Crone, East Orange, N. J., assignor to Buffalo Brake Beam Company,New York N. Y., a Corporation of New York Application April 21, 1931.Serial No. 531,705

9 Claims. (01. 188-210) For a clearer understanding of the presentinvention, reference may be had to my prior U. S. Letters Patent No.1,708,121, dated April 9, 1929, wherein there is disclosed an emergencysafety bar of one piece'which has a bearing relation with the bottomsurface of i a spring plank. and wherein there are disclosed twobrackets which depend from the spring plank and by means of removablelocking pins are adapted to support the safety bar in position. However,in that patent the brake beams are approximately in the plane of orslightly above the provision of means whereby two similar bar membersmay be separately detachably supported underneath the spring plank, forseparate assembly therewith, the inner ends of the bar members beingdetachably connected toout invention itis preferred to extend portionsof the supporting brackets inwardly so that they will have a bearingrelation with the bottom of the spring plank, and to overlap the innerends of the bar members and connect them by means of a suitable memberwhich is removably' pinned to the overlapped ends, such connectingmember preferably bearing upon the bottom surface of the spring plank.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists ofcertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts to behereinafter described and then'claimed with reference to theaccompanying drawing illustrating apreferred embodiment of the inventionand wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan of a brake beam mechanismprovided with safety bars in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of a portion of a spring plank, showing thepresent improvements;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3--3,

Fig. 2, and the improved means shownin ele- TT vation;

gether. In carrying out such object of the pres- Fig. 4 is a brokendetail section on the line 44, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail on the line 55, Fig. 3, the spring plankbeing omitted.

In Fig. l of the drawing, the brake beams 10, ll of any suitableconstruction are shown in association with the spring plank 12 orsimilar member of the car truck. Also there is shown two emergencysafety bars each of which is composed of two bar members 13, 14, asshown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.

Preferably the bar members 13, 14 are similar to or identical with eachother, for economy in manufacture, as each bar member may take the placeof the other member and as each of them may be placed in using positionwithout regard to any special feature of construction of the other barmember. Each bar member is preferably composed of fiat lengths of metalpositioned edgewise vertically underneath the spring plank, when theyare in using position.

Bar member 13 comprises offset parallel end portions 16, 17 which areconnected by an intermediate deflected portion 15. The bar member 14comprises similar and corresponding portions 18, 19 and 20, so that, intransportation from the mm, the two bar members and any number of themmay be placed fiat against one another so as to take up a minimum ofspace.

The inner portions 17, 20 of the bar members are especially formed and,Lmited in order to provide a single safety bar when in use. It will beseen clearly from Fig. 2 from the broken lines that the inner ends ofthe end portions v 17, 20 of the bar members are deflected and areinclined in opposite directions away from the vertical plane which thesafety bar 13, 14 assumes when in using position, and that the innerextremities are overlapped. These deflected From one side of springplank 12 there depends a supporting bracket 21 and from the other side asupporting bracket 22. These brackets are provided with inwardly turnedup-- per ends 23 which engage over the upper edges of the spring plank,the brackets being secured in position by means of rivets 24. As shownin Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the lower ends of the brackets 21, 22 arerespectively formed with inwardly extending flanges or cheek'portions25, 26, fashioned somewhat as shown in the aforesaid patent. Theproportions of the parts of the brackets are such that the upper edgesof the cheek portions 25, 26 will have a firm bearing contactwith theunder surfaces of the spring plank,

for the sake of solidity, and hence rigidity. Between the cheekportions, the outer face portion of each bracket is formed with anopening or vertical slot 27, which is located between the cheek portionsof each bracket, and defines the distance at which the cheek portions ofeach bracket are spaced apart.

In applying the two-piece safety bar to the spring plank, the inner endportions 17, 20 of the bar members are first inserted through ,thecorresponding openings or slots 27 therefor, so as to pass betweenthecheek portions of the brackets, and to be in bearing relationtherewith. When these bar members 13, 14 are in proper position, lockingpins 28 are passed through registering openings in the-cheek portionsand the portions 17, 20 of the bar members. In doing so, yieldableself-locking keepers 29 mounted in the looking pins 28 will act to holdthe locking pins in place. Such a form of locking pinis well known.Thereby the two bar members 13, 14 will be detachably supported in usingposition upon the brackets, with the upper edges of the inner portions17, 20 thereof bearing transversely upon the entire width of the bottomsurface of the spring plank 12. Such relation between the brackets, thebar members and the spring plank tends to rigidity.

After the bar members 13, i l have been separately detachably connectedwith the supporting brackets 21, 22, with their deflected inner ends inoverlapped relation and bearing squarely upon each other, a U-shapedstraddle member 30 is passed upwardly over the overlapped ends of thebar members, so that the upper edges of the bar members and of thestraddle member 30 will be substantially in one plane and said edgeswill all bear upon the bottom surface of the spring plank. The straddlemember 30 and the inner ends of the bar members are provided with holeswhich are adapted to register, as clearly shown in Fig; 5, and whenregistered a headed connecting pin 31 is passed through and retained inposition by means of a key or cotter pin 32, and thereby the overlappedends of the bar members are firmly united together so as to practicallyform a single safety bar, adapted to be rigidly supported as Well as asafety bar of one piece.

Obviously the illustrated and described invention is susceptible tomodification as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without dparting from the invention as defined in the appended claims. 1

What I claim as new is,-

1. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination with atruck member, of two bar members with overlapped inner ends andextending outwardly beyond the truck mem ber, means for separately,detachably supporting the bar members from the truck member at pointsbelow such truck member, a U-shaped member straddling the overlappedends, and means for rigidly connecting the overlapped ends and U-shapedmember, whereby to unite the two bar members and provide a single safetybar.

2. In auxiliary supporting means for brake the combination with a truckmember, or" two bar members with overlapped inner ends and extendingoutwardly beyond. the truck member, supporting brackets rigidly attachedto and depen-ding from the truck member, removable locking pinsseparately detachably connecting the bar members with the lower ends ofthe brackets, a U-shaped member straddling the overlapped ends, andmeans for rigidly connecting the overlapped ends and U-shaped member,whereby to unite the two bar members and provide a single safety bar.

3. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination with atruck member, of two bar members with overlapped inner ends andextending outwardly beyond the truck member, brackets carried by thetruck member and each provided with spaced apart cheeks at oppositesides of an opening therein, the cheeks extending inwardly under thetruck member and the bar members extending through the openings andbetween the cheeks, removable locking pins separately detachablyconnecting the bar members with the cheeks, a U-shaped member straddlingthe overlapped ends, and means for rigidly connecting the overlappedends and U-shaped member, whereby to unite the two bar members andprovide a single safety bar.

4. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination with atruck member, of two bar members with overlapped inner ends andextending outwardly beyond the truck member, means for separately,detachably supporting the bar members from the truck member, a U-shapedmember straddling the overlapped ends, and pins passing through thestraddle member and connecting the overlapped ends and U-shaped member,the pins extending 10ngitudinally 'of the truck member, whereby to unitethe two bar members and provide a single safety bar.

5. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination with'a spring plank, of two bar members having meeting inner ends andextending outwardly beyond the spring plank, means for separately,detachably supporting the bar members from the spring plank and withtheir inner end portions in contact with the bottom surface of thespring plank throughout, the meeting ends of the bar membersoverlapping, a U-shaped member straddling the overlapped ends and havingits upper edges in contact with the bottom surface of the spring plank,and means for detachably connecting the overlapped ends and U-shapedmember so as to provide a single safety bar.

- 6. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination witha spring plank, of two bar members having meeting inner ends andextending outwardly beyond the spring plank, means for separately,detachably supporting the bar members from the spring plank and withtheir inner end portions in contact with the bottom surface of thespring plank throughout, the meeting ends of the bar membersoverlapping,'a U-shaped member straddling the overlapped ends and havingits upper edges in contact with the bottom surface of the spring plank,and a removable keyed on pin for detachably connecting the overlappedends and U-shaped member so as to provide a single safety bar.

,,7. In auxiliary supporting means for brake beams, the combination witha truck member, of two, similar, bar members of flattened form setvertically edgewise and extending outwardly in one plane beyond thetruck member, means for separately, detachably supporting the barmembers in such position from the truck member, the inner ends of thebar members being deflected in opposite directions from such plane andbeing overlapped, a straddle member over the deflected inner ends of thebar members,

and a pin passing through the straddle member and the inner ends, so asto provide a single safety bar.

8. A safety bar comprising two, similar, bar

members of flattened form, positioned flatwise with respect to eachother and having their main portions extending in one plane, the innerends of the bar members being deflectedin opposite directions from andinclined to such plane and being overlapped, and means for detachablyconnecting the overlapped ends.

